Hot Topics:

Slots parlor in Littleton? 'I just don't think this is the place for it'

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
12/31/2012 08:29:54 AM EST

This site near Routes 495 and 119 in Littleton is being looked at by a Toronto-based company for a possible slots parlor. Some residents don t like the idea. SUN/BOB WHITAKER

LITTLETON - It will be left to Littleton voters to decide if a slot-machine gambling facility should open on Great Road, just north of Interstate 495. But around the quiet town common Sunday, little support seemed to exist for the proposal.

"I like the town the way it is," said Greg Ehlers, the owner of Littleton Sub Shoppe and House of Pizza on King Street, which expanded earlier this month. "I definitely don't want to see that."

Xander Kadziolka, who was manning the counter at We Consign It, a consignment shop on Great Road just east of the town center, also said he is opposed, citing traffic as the major issue.

"You already can't get out of here as it is," he said.

Xander Kadziolka, who works at We Consign It on Great Road, is opposed to a slots parlor up the road a bit because of the traffic it would bring. "You already can't get out of here as it is," he says. SUN/BOB WHITAKER

Afacility with up to 1,250 slot machines could also drastically change the character of the town, which just this month was named by Bloomberg Businessweek as the best place to raise kids in Massachusetts. The report based its findings on a national survey that included more than 3,200 communities.

Littleton, a town of 8,810, was cited for its public school system, safety, relative wealth (a $114,094 median family income), housing costs as a percentage of income (23 percent) and the county unemployment rate (5.1 percent), along with diversity, commute times, proximity to a large city, and cultural and arts offerings.

Most of those interviewed about the gaming proposal said a slots parlor would change the town's character, and not for the better.

Advertisement

Ateacher from Chelmsford said she'd oppose a Littleton slots parlor enough to picket it, while a shop worker said she'd generally support such a facility because the state could use the revenue. Neither wanted their comments on the record.

At Common Convenience, a cashier said she doesn't object to gambling but also doesn't think Littleton is the right place for a slots parlor.

"It's a dangerous street as it is," said the cashier, who wanted only her first name, Maureen, used. "I just don't think this is the place for it."

Plans for a slots parlor in Littleton are still in the early phases - nothing has been formally filed yet - but the thought of a gambling facility also doesn't appeal to Susie Blair, a Northeastern University student working at Little Towne Toys on King Street. But she wasn't entirely opposed.

The town is already has a highway cutting through it, and new business could be good for the town, she said.

"It wouldn't affect me, but I can see why people wouldn't like it," Blair said.

Plans for the unnamed, 100,000-squarefoot facility are still preliminary. The company looking to build the parlor, Torontobased Clairvest, said in a statement last week only that it is "evaluating the potential" for a slots operation in Littleton.

"At this time, Clairvest is only evaluating the potential for such a development, and has not submitted a formal application to the commonwealth or a proposal to the town of Littleton," the company said. "Should Clairvest decide to proceed, it is committed to a transparent process that meets the needs of all stakeholders."

The facility would be built at the 90-acre, mixed-use development being constructed just north of Interstate 495 called The Point. The site, about a half-mile from Littleton center, is owned by Sam Park & Company.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission plans to license three casinos in the state, along with one slots- only facility, which wouldn't allow table games. The deadline for applying for a permit for a slots facility is Jan. 15, with a $ 400,000 application fee required.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.